Summary[]
Kung Fu Duck is a 2008 American computer-animated martial arts comedy film produced by Ragdoll Productions, BBC, Hit Entertainment and Thirteen WNET New York and distributed by 20th Century Fox and PBS Kids. It is the first installment in the Kung Fu Duck film series. Directed by John Stevenson (in his feature directorial debut) and Mark Osborne, the film stars the voices of H.D. Quinn, Dante R. Basco, Jamie Grable, Christoph Waltz, Chinami Nishimura, Tabitha St. Germain, Rob Rackstraw, Peter Oldring, Neil Crone, Joe Ochman, and Michael R. Buckley. The film is set in a version of ancient China populated by anthropomorphic animals and revolves around a bumbling duckling named Duck, a kung fu enthusiast. When a notorious kung fu snow boggan named Mandrake is foretold to escape from prison, Duck is unwittingly named the "Dragon Warrior" - a kung fu legend that is destined to defeat him.
The film was originally conceived by Michael Lachance, a Ragdoll Productions executive. It was originally intended to be a parody of martial arts films, but director Stevenson decided instead to make an action-comedy wuxia film that incorporates the hero's journey narrative archetype for the lead character. As with most Ragdoll Productions shows, Hans Zimmer (this time collaborating with John Powell) scored the film. He visited China to absorb the culture and get to know the China National Symphony Orchestra as part of his preparation.
Kung Fu Duck premiered in the United States on June 6, 2008. The film received positive reviews from critics for its mature themes, faithfulness to the Chinese environment and tradition, action sequences, and writing. The film opened in 4,114 theaters, grossing $20.3 million on its opening day and $60.2 million on its opening weekend, resulting in the number one position at the box office. The film became Hit Entertainment's biggest opening for a non-sequel film, making it the third highest grossing film of 2008, the highest-grossing animated film of the year, and also had the fourth-largest opening weekend for a Hit Entertainment film at the American and Canadian box office, behind all three Sonic (Shrek) sequels.
Plot[]
In the Valley of Peace, a land in Ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, the clumsy Duck helps his adoptive controller father Sir Topham Hatt to run their noodle restaurant. Duck dreams of fighting alongside the Furious Five, a group of kung fu masters trained by Zuko.
Zuko's mentor Master Duke the Narrow Gauge Engine predicts that the deadly snow boggan Mandrake will escape from prison and attack the valley to obtain the Dragon Scroll, as he had done once before. Panicked, Zuko sends Duck the great western engine to increase the security of the prison. He then holds a tournament for the Five so Duke can identify the Dragon Warrior, a prophesied hero worthy of reading the Scroll and supposedly gaining limitless power. Duck arrives too late to enter the arena; desperate to see his idols, he uses fireworks to launch himself into the Jade Palace. There, Duke names Duck the Dragon Warrior, to the astonishment of everyone present.
Believing Duke's decision to be an accident, Shifu tries to dispose of Duck with a harsh training regime, while the Five dismiss Duck as an enthusiast with no potential. Duck considers quitting, but after receiving encouragement from Duke, he endures his training and gradually befriends the Five with his resilience, culinary skill, and good humor. During this time, Duck learns that Zuko had raised Mandrake from infancy and trained him in Kung Fu; Zuko's cold behavior stems from his own shame over Mandrake's betrayal. Meanwhile, Duck attempts to convince the guards to double the security of the prison. However, the guards' commander believes security is tight enough, and shows Duck around the prison to prove his point. Not long after, Mandrake escapes from prison by picking his locks with one of Duck's feathers and vanquishing the guards.
Zuko learns of the escape and informs Duke, who makes Zuko promise to believe in Duck, then passes on to the Spirit Realm in a cloud of peach blossoms. Upon hearing that Duke has crashed, and that Mandrake is coming, Duck - still unable to make any progress with kung fu - makes Zuko admit that he does not know how to train him into the Dragon Warrior. Cappy, the leader of the Five, overhears this, and leads her team to confront Mandrake. The next day, Zuko discovers that Duck is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food, and successfully trains Duck by incorporating these feats into an innovative kung fu style, using food as positive reinforcement.
The Furious Five try to stop Mandrake, but he overwhelms them using his nerve strike technique. Zuko decides that Duck is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, but the scroll is empty, only displaying a golden reflective surface. Believing it to be useless, Duck and the Five evacuate the inhabitants of the Valley while Zuko prepares to face Mandrake alone. In trying to console Duck over what has happened, Sir Topham Hatt reveals that his "secret ingredient soup" has no secret ingredient, explaining that things are special if people believe they are. Realizing that this is the message of the Dragon Scroll, which only displays the reader's own face, Duck rushes back to help Zuko.
Mandrake and Zuko battle in the Jade Palace, until Zuko is brutally beaten into submission. He apologizes to his former student for being too proud to realize what his ambition was causing Mandrake to become, but Mandrake refuses to accept. Duck arrives with the Dragon Scroll, taking over from Zuko and frustrating Mandrake with his unpredictable and confusing Kung Fu techniques. Mandrake temporarily subdues Duck and takes the scroll, becoming enraged when he learns that it does not give any mystical powers. Discovering that his body fat renders him immune to Mandrake's nerve strikes, Duck regains his confidence and fights back, eventually banishing Mandrake to the Spirit Realm with the Wuxi Finger Hold.
Duck is honored by the Valley and gains the respect of the Furious Five, while Zuko recovers and achieves a state of inner peace. In a post-credits scene, Zuko and Duck share a meal while a peach Zuko had planted earlier in the movie grows in the background.
Cast[]
- Po - Duck (WordWorld)
- Viper - Rattle Diva (Hero: 108)
- Crane - Cody (Total Drama)
- Mantis - Pachirisu (Pokemon)
- Monkey - Harley Wilson (Cyberchase: For Real)
- Tigress - Jamie Grable (Cedarmont Kids)
- Tai Lung (Baby) - Vincent (Over the Hedge)
- Tai Lung (Young) - Dagda (Epic)
- Tai Lung - Mandrake (Epic)
- Shifu - Prince Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
- Oogway - Duke (Thomas and Friends)
- Mr. Ping - The Fat Controller (Thomas and Friends)
- Zeng - Peter Sam (Thomas and Friends)
- Commander Vachir - Diesel 10 (Thomas and Friends)
- Gang Boss - Wooster Q. Weasel (Animalia)
- Grateful Bunny - Cilan (Pokémon)
- Village People - Various Cartoon, PBS Kids, PBS Kids Go!, Cedarmont Kids, Puyo Puyo, ZOOM, Mao Mao, Kinderwood, Pokemon and Alice in Wonderland Characters
- Awed Ninja - Dog (WordWorld)
- Rabbit Kid - Kevin (Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart)
- Gong Pig - Sir Handel (Thomas and Friends)
- Rhino Guards - Various Cartoon Villains
- Blind Gator - Ord (Dragon Tales)
- Bunny Mom - Laa-Laa (Teletubbies)
- Smitten Bunny - Po (Teletubbies)
- Pig Patron - Tinky Winky (Teletubbies)
- Pig Fan - Dipsy (Teletubbies)
- KG Shaw - Andy Arlington (Maya and Miguel)
- Jr Shaw - Theo McEwen (Maya and Miguel)
- Various Patrons - Various Blue Sky Studios Characters
- Various Fans - Various PBS Kids Characters
- Rabbit Kids - The Tiddlytubbies (Teletubbies) and Mao Mao Kids (Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart)
- Customers - Various Blue Sky Studios Characters
- DreamWorks Ninja - Dot (PBS Kids)
Locations[]
- Ping's Noodle Shop - Knapford Station
- The Village - The Island of Sodor
- The Dojo - The Coaling Plant
- Chor Gom Prison - The Scrapyards
Scenes[]
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 1 - Legendary Dreams
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 2 - The Fat Controller's Noodle Shop/Dream Talk
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 3 - Enter Zuko/Duke's Vision
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 4 - Climb to Your Dreams
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 5 - The Tournament/Duck is Chosen
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 6 - Chor Gom Prison
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 7 - The Sacred Hall of Warriors
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 8 - The Training Hall
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 9 - Duck Doesn't Belong
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 10 - Mandrake Escapes
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 11 - Torturous Training
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 12 - Acupuncture/Mandrake's Backstory
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 13 - Duke's Death
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 14 - Dinner
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 15 - Zuko Trains Duck
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 16 - Dumpling Brawl
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 17 - Battle on the Bridge
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 18 - Duck Receives the Scroll/The Scroll is Blank
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 19 - Evacuating the Valley/The Secret Ingredient
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 20 - Zuko vs. Mandrake
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 21 - Duck vs. Mandrake/Mandrake's Death
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 22 - Duck is The Dragon Warrior
- Kung Fu Duck (Hero Style) Part 23 - End Credits "(Kung Fu Fighting)"
See Also[]
- Home Video
